


oo-de-lally, golly what a day

by skyways_are_highways



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Happy Ending, Hijinks & Shenanigans, I wrote this for myself but you can read it too, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Robin Hood (1973) - Freeform, Teen for language, i literally wrote this in 24 hours and didn't edit like, these two pieces of shit love each other so much, this au is so specific and im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:28:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27358039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyways_are_highways/pseuds/skyways_are_highways
Summary: Seeing Zuko again would be a lot simpler if Sokkaweren'ta wanted man, but when had things ever been easy?____or, the robin hood au that literally no one asked for but I've decided to write anyway
Relationships: Sokka & Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Yue & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 227





	oo-de-lally, golly what a day

**Author's Note:**

> this is a mess and is 90% dialogue but i wrote it in like, one day and didn't edit. you know what you're getting into

"You'll never guess who _apparently_ moved into the castle," Suki says one afternoon, dragging the laundry out from under a tree root.

Sokka keeps his expression calm. "You're right. I won't. You should tell me."

Suki grins, just a little evil, "According to some people in town, your boyfriend's back."

"He's not my boyfriend," Sokka says matter of factly. 

"He's not, is he? Could've fooled me." Suki pins another shirt on the clothesline in front of her. 

Sokka's not lying. He could never lie to Suki. Prince Zuko is _not_ Sokka's boyfriend. Sokka leans back against a tree stump, "Of course he isn't. What Zuko and I have is _so much_ more." He's joking, albeit only a little. Neither of them were ever into the sappy, lovey-dovey things others were into. At least not where people could see them. Sokka sighs theatrically, "Zuko's my other half, Suki, how dare you reduce him to just my _boyfriend?"_

Suki sits next to him and punches his shoulder, "Oh, shut up."

Zuko's _back._ Zuko, who Sokka hasn't seen for years, not since they were nineteen and committing high treason in place of date nights. He'd been sent to the Royal Academy in Caldera after getting caught sneaking out. 

Seeing him again would be a lot simpler if Sokka were allowed anywhere near the palace and _weren't_ a wanted man, but when had things ever been easy?

___

Zuko would have to wait, though, if Sokka didn't want to die a premature death at the hands of his little sister. Maybe he got caught up with something else and nearly forgot his nephew's birthday. People make mistakes. 

He expects to see Katara standing outside, tapping her foot like she always does when mad, but instead, he sees the door already open, and the shadow of a man standing just inside. 

Well. That's not good. 

But Sokka's a master strategist and has, as always, a contingency plan. He rifles through his bag for his fake beard and glasses. _Sokka_ can't be seen by the Sherriff, but Old Man Fire is a different person entirely. 

Sokka clears his throat and checks his face in a puddle before pushing his way through the doorframe. On the floor to the left is the birthday boy himself, Bumi, in tears. Sherriff Zhao has a sinister grin on his face, and Katara looks three seconds from decking him. 

It'd be fucking incredible to watch, but Sokka doesn't think she'd be a good fit for the jailhouse. 

Katara falters and squints at Sokka. She's always been able to see through his disguises, he just hopes she'll be smart enough to not say anything until the Sherriff leaves. 

Zhao turns around to see Old Man Fire rattling around his tin cup. Sokka had planted a coin in there before he entered. Zhao's never been able to resist money. 

"Ah! And what do we have here?" Zhao rubs his hands together like some storybook villain, "Have _you_ paid your taxes recently, sir? We were just educating this little one here about them." He pats the top of Bumi's head absently. Sokka has to keep himself from smiling when his nephew pushes the man's hand away a little harder than necessary.

That explains it. Most presents at Katara and Aang's house had consisted of whatever money they could spare in recent years. There often wasn't much left to spend on actual gifts once the taxes were paid. The kids didn't mind, but it drove Katara crazy.

Zhao had taken Bumi's birthday present. 

That sick _bastard_.

Ten minutes and some pretty solid acting later, Sokka's finally convinced Zhao to leave without taking anything _else_ from the house. The Sherriff won't return Bumi's present, but that's fine. Sokka's is better, anyway. 

The door shuts behind Zhao, and the entire house seems to sag in relief. Katara turns on Sokka, "Take the beard off. You're late."

Sokka gives a sheepish smile and takes off the disguise. "Sorry, 'Tara. Got caught up in something else. But I made it!" 

The kids all shriek in excitement, which makes the baby strapped to Katara's back start crying. 

"Uncle Sokka!" Bumi crashes into Sokka's leg and grabs on like he's some sort of koala-possum. Kya, who's only a year or so younger than her brother, latches onto the other. 

Another kid is standing next to Katara. One that Sokka knows he's not related to. "That's not Lin, is it?" He says, "There's no way! Last time I saw you, you were Tenzin's age!"

She's only two years older than Katara's youngest. There's barely a difference, but the statement makes the kid break out into a grin anyway.

"Toph's back in town, though she won't tell me why. Something to do with the Prince," Katara shrugs, "Asked me to watch Lin for her."

Bumi pries himself off of Sokka, "Didja bring us anything?"

"Oh! Presents!" Kya twirls in a circle while Bumi cheers her on.

Sokka's too busy to hear them. "What to do with the prince?" He asks, and Katara rolls her eyes.

"No one ever said it had to do with _your_ prince, Sokka."

Sokka shrugs and turns back to Bumi and Kya, who had directed their attention to tugging on his sleeves. He reaches a hand into his bag to grab Bumi's present. 

Sokka didn't have much use for Boomerang anymore. It'd served him well when he was younger, but even he had to admit it wasn't much use against the generally-pissed-off Royal Guard.

Bumi, on the other hand? He'd have a _field day_. There's a reason Sokka's the coolest uncle. 

"Well, Bumi, my dearest nephew, I _did_ bring you a present." Bumi's eyes go wide when he sees what Sokka has in his hand. Boomerang is a little too big for him, in retrospect, but oh well. "You'll grow into it."

"You _didn't."_ Katara has her hands on her hips. He should've known she'd be upset about giving her child a weapon.

Sokka grins and drops a bag of coins in her hand, "You're welcome, Katara. _See-you-later-gotta-go-bye!"_

He slams the door shut behind him. Katara may be his _little_ sister, but she'll still kill him if need be.

___

Bumi's mom said he can't use the boomerang inside, if at all. So he instead decides to be _very_ grown up and practice in the woods. Right next to the castle.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. 

But now, after Boomerang has disappeared behind the courtyard walls and Lin looks about two seconds from crying, Bumi realizes he probably should've picked somewhere else. 

"Don't worry! We'll just sneak in and grab it," Bumi says, sounding more confident than he feels.

Kya raises one eyebrow and does a pretty good impression of Mom's Disappointed Face, "It's the castle, Bumi! You can't just walk on in!"

"Sure, I can!" 

Lin's top lip has stopped quivering, _"My_ mom says there's nothing wrong with sneaking around as long as you don't get caught."

"See! Even Lin agrees!" Bumi grins. He turns and marches toward the castle before Kya can get another word in. "Just. Don't tell Mom and Dad later, alright?" 

Boomerang did, in fact, land in the courtyard. Only a few precious feet from _people_ , as though Bumi's day couldn't get any worse. The gate into the courtyard is locked shut, but the bars are far enough apart that Bumi could wiggle through with ease.

Kya tugs on Bumi's arm, "They're right there, Bumi! They'll see you! We can come to grab it later."

Later as in when Dad comes home. Later as in when Dad will ask Bumi where his present is. He's never been a good liar. If he wants to remain ungrounded, he's got to grab Boomerang _now._

Bumi shrugs off his sister and slips through the bars. The boomerang is only a few feet ahead of him, laying gently underneath a tree. He doesn't stop to look at the people. They're sparring, he can tell from the occasional clash of swords, which means they have weapons. 

He reaches the last inch and finally gets a grip on the boomerang when a sword lands two inches from his nose, sticking straight up out of the grass. 

"I think I won that, Yue." The voice is deep and raspy and getting closer to Bumi by the second. He can hear Kya gasp from the other side of the gate. The footsteps stop. "There's a kid."

"What? Like, right there?" 

"Yes, right there! I'm looking at him right now!" 

Bumi dares to lift his head. He tries to think of every curse word Uncle Sokka ever said around him when Mom wasn't paying attention because Bumi realizes he's looking right up at the _prince_. 

Bumi snatches up Boomerang and makes a dash for the gate while Kya waves him over. 

"Wait, wait! Hang on!" The lady (possibly named Yue) says in a much gentler voice than before. "What are all of you doing here?" 

"Yeah, don't worry. You're not in any trouble," the prince soothes. Yue is standing behind him now, crouched down close to the ground.

Bumi stops, holding tight to Boomerang. "I was practicing with my present, and it landed in here. 'M sorry, please don't tell my mom."

Yue smiles, "See? Perfectly reasonable explanation. I'm Yue, and this is Zuko." The name Zuko sounds familiar, for some reason, and not just because he's the prince. 

"You look familiar. Have we met before?" Zuko slips his swords into their sheaths. 

Bumi shrugs as Kya exclaims, "You're the Zuko my mom says Uncle Sokka's in love with!" 

Zuko freezes and Yue covers her laughter with her hand. Bumi remembers, now. Every so often, Uncle Sokka would come to visit, but instead of playing with him, his uncle would complain about Zuko to his mother. 

"I- Uh. I mean. Wait." Zuko's stammering and turning red. "You're Katara's kids?" 

Kya nods enthusiastically, "Yeah!"

"Well, isn't that nice?" Yue says after catching her breath, "It's getting a little late, and I don't think your mother would like it very much if you stayed out until dark. It's been _lovely_ meeting you." 

Bumi preens a bit at the compliment before grabbing his sister and Lin and leading them home. They'll go visit their uncle first.

Uncle Sokka is going to _lose it._

___

Sokka was losing it. It's one thing to hear _rumors_ that your boyfriend is back in town, but it's another thing entirely to hear from your nephew(!!!!) that they've _met._

Suki is laughing hysterically somewhere behind Sokka. He can't turn around to find out where exactly, because he's busy staring, dumbstruck, at his niece and nephew. 

He shakes his head to clear his thought. Start from the beginning. "So, hang on. You three snuck into the castle courtyard? I'm pretty sure your mom has, like, one rule, and it's _don't get near the castle."_

"Technically, Bumi is the only one who ever went into the courtyard! Lin and I stayed outside!" Kya chimes in.

"Hell yeah, Kya. You're too smart for that." Suki ruffles the little girl's hair, and Kya smiles even wider. "So, Sokka, what's your plan? Your boy's back, and I'm surprised you haven't already gone to get him."

Sokka rubs a hand down his face, "I'm working on it, alright? Right now, all you kids need to go home before Katara figures out you're here and kills me."

"If you think this poor excuse for a campsite isn't at the _top_ of my list of places to look when my kids disappear, you're wrong." Katara replies, stepping out from behind the bushes she'd been walking through.

"Oh, great," Sokka sighs, "I promise I didn't tell them to come, alright? It's just they-"

"We snuck into the castle and saw Prince Zuko and Lady Yue!" Lin finishes, evidently trying to be helpful. 

Katara pinches the bridge of her nose, "Of course you did."

"But Zuko's back!" Suki nudges Katara's side. "Which means we're free from his incessant pining once more!" 

"I actually came to tell you that, too," Katara looks back up at Sokka, "There's an archery contest being held by the Firelord."

"And? They'll never let me enter. You seem to forget we're bandits, Katara." 

"I know that. The prize is a kiss from the prince," Katara continues and holds up a finger to hush Sokka before he can get started, "It's a trap. Whatever stunt you two pulled the other day _really_ pissed him off."

"Of course it's a trap!" Sokka exclaims a little hysterically. "They're an efficient method of capturing people for a reason, Katara. You think that'll stop me from entering?" 

"No. We all knew you'll enter anyway and win, and it'll all end in disaster," Katara says matter of factly. Sokka can't deny she has a point.

Sokka grins, "You're damn right it will."

___

"Sokka will know it's a trap, right?" Yue asks from her spot at the foot of Zuko's bed.

"Probably. He better enter anyway though, it's been years since we've seen each other," Zuko says.

Yue rolls her eyes, "I know, Zuko. You're incapable of going a day without talking about him."

"Exactly my point. If Sokka doesn't come to this, I'll have no choice but to leave him."

___

There are more people in town for the archery contest than expected. Blending in will be a piece of cake.

Sokka tugs on one last layer before turning back to Suki, "So? You think anyone will recognize me?"

"Probably not, honestly. As long as you don't do anything stupid." 

"Do you know me at all?"

___

Sokka makes his way through the tents toward the canopy with the royal family. Most contestants had already introduced themselves to the prince, so there's no one in Sokka's way. 

Firelord Ozai is whispering with the Sherriff, turned almost completely away from Zuko. Azula's chair is empty. That might be a problem later, but Sokka decides to ignore it for now.

Yue is talking to Zuko, but the prince just looks plain bored. He's holding his chin in one hand and thrumming his fingers against his cheek. 

Sokka adjusts his fake beard one last time before making the approach. Zuko can't see very well on his left, so Sokka passes Yue as he moves in front of Zuko.

Yue narrows her eyes, just slightly, and elbows Zuko. Sokka has to keep himself from grinning. 

"Your highness," Sokka lowers his head, "Pleasure to meet you." He holds out a hand. His disguise skills never fooled Zuko, either.

Zuko eyes him suspiciously and takes the hand, "And you are?" 

"I'm Wang Fire, highness." He gives Zuko a mischievous grin as he kisses Zuko's hand. Yue snorts into her sleeve, trying to cover her mouth, and realization dawns on Zuko's face.

"Well, Sir Fire, I assume you're one of the competitors?"

Sokka nods, and when Zuko doesn't say anything he adds, "Are you not going to wish me luck, highness?"

"No. I don't think you'll need it," Zuko shoots Sokka a glare, and it takes all of his willpower to keep from laughing. 

"I think I agree. I'll see you later?" Sokka raises an eyebrow, and Zuko turns red. Either Zuko recognizes him, or they'll have to have a long talk later.

___

Yue turns to Zuko as soon as Sokka gets out of earshot. "Your boyfriend is the most ridiculous person I've ever met, you know that, right?" 

Zuko, who is still bright red and will probably stay that way for a while, sighs, "Yeah, he is."

___

Sokka takes his place in the lineup and tests his bowstring absentmindedly. He hardly looks up until someone takes the target next to him. 

"Hello- wait hang on, _Toph?"_

Toph waves at him, "Hey, snoozles. I assume you're in disguise since the entire Royal Guard hasn't killed you yet."

Sokka laughs a little nervously, "Yeah, you're right. Can I ask why you're competing? You can't shoot for shit."

She gives him an evil grin, "I'm trying to steal your man. Why else?"

Ten minutes and ten arrows later, Sokka's won the competition in a landslide. He's not a showoff, but maybe he showed off, just a little. His boyfriend he hasn't seen in years is in the audience! 

The other contestants cheered along with the audience, if not reluctantly. Firelord Ozai stands up with his arms open wide and starts to spew some words about unity and trying times. Sokka scans the crowd, and he swears he sees a shot of black hair disappear behind a tent, but Zuko is still sitting near his father, so he must've imagined it.

The crowd pushes Sokka up toward the canopy where Zuko is waiting. It's been _way_ too long, and Sokka nearly says 'Fuck it' and runs up there himself. 

___

Zuko leans farther forward in his seat while his father keeps droning on about the contest. 

"And here we have our winner!" Sokka bows in front of the Firelord, "Deserving of _everything_ that's coming to him."

Zuko barely has time to move before Ozai reaches down and rips off Sokka's beard. Yue gasps and grabs at Zuko's elbow. 

"Guards! Kill him!" 

The crowd tenses and the murmuring is almost too loud to hear over. Ozai grins wickedly and sits back in his seat as the guards descend on Sokka. Yue shoots Zuko a panicked look as Zuko gets an idea.

It'll be humiliating, but he didn't take all those acting electives for nothing. 

"Stop!" He shouts louder than he has in _years,_ and to his surprise, Ozai turns to look at him. "You can't kill him! Father, don't you understand I _love him!"_

___

Oh. So that's how they're doing this? Sokka struggles against the guards holding his arms. The Prince has been gone for years, and the first thing he does is confess his love for the most wanted man for miles? Alright. Sokka can work with this.

The Firelord looks back at Sokka, "And you? Do you love him?" Something about Ozai's expression sets off alarm bells in Sokka's head, but whatever's going on is buying him time. 

"More than _anything!"_ Sokka shouts over the crowd, and Ozai grins.

Oh. Shit. 

"Well then, the two of you can die together-"

___

Suki had snuck behind the royal family's tent earlier in the contest as reassurance for when it inevitably went wrong. 

A half-hour later, listening to the Firelord sentencing her best friend and his boyfriend to death, she's glad she did. 

Suki reaches through a space in the curtains and grabs Firelord Ozai by the collar, digging her knife v _ery_ hard into the back of his neck. He makes a choking noise and shuts up, thankfully.

"Now," Suki hisses in his ear, "Tell the guards to release Sokka."

___

"Guards, release Sokka," Ozai spits out, leaning into his seat at a funny angle. Zuko squints and sees the cold glint of a knife peeking through the curtains, just barely. Spirits bless Suki. "NOW!" 

The guards all immediately drop Sokka onto the ground and take a step back. Zuko pushes past his father and jumps off the platform. 

"Did you really mean all that?" Sokka teases, "It was quite the show."

Zuko buries his face in Sokka's shoulder, "Of course I did, you ass. I just never thought I'd have to say it with an _audience_."

___

Suki is more surprised than she should be when Azula sneaks up on her. The princess had been missing from her spot for most of the event, no doubt trying to sniff out Sokka. 

Suki releases Ozai's collar but kicks his chair through the curtains, _hard,_ and draws out her fans. Azula's expression is blank when she unsheathes her sword. 

They're evenly matched. Every time Azula slices through the air, Suki is prepared to duck to the side. As soon as Suki swipes her leg under Azula, she's jumped just in time to dodge. 

Suki's starting to tire out when she sees a flash of white and blue dart out from the other side of the curtain. Yue smiles before knocking Azula to the ground.

"You know, I had it handled," Suki says as the tie Azula to a post, nice and out of the way.

"Mhmm."

___

Ozai stands back up, and Sokka groans. Whatever Suki had been doing back there stopped working. The Firelord shrieks something in a decidedly unmanly voice, and the guards are on them again.

His space sword had been a birthday gift from Toph, once he had made a name for himself as a bandit. It'd been a while since he lasted used it, but now, as he fights off at _least_ four guards at once, he wishes he'd kept up with it. Sokka can hold his own, of course, but it'd be nice if things could move a _little_ faster. 

Zuko's disappeared, probably to find a weapon. Sokka _knows_ he heard the tell-tale sound of Toph insulting some poor guard, and he wouldn't be surprised if Katara were somewhere doing her best. 

Suki appears at his side, "Sorry, Azula snuck up on me. Yue and I handled it," she's out of breath but grinning like a madman.

"Don't worry about it. This was gonna happen anyway," Sokka assures her, ducking underneath someone's sword as she reaches over him to strike. 

___

Zuko is backed into a corner when Yue arrives and throws his dual swords at him. 

"Thanks!" He's _finally_ able to do more than dodge and occasionally reach out with a hit of his own. Spirits, he hasn't actually fought anyone since before he got sent to the capital. Sparring with Yue was fine, but there wasn't any _adrenaline._

"Your sister is tied to a fence post right now," Yue says between attacks, "So don't go looking for her." 

Zuko smiles vindictively at the image. "She'll be alright. I'll find her after."

___

Sokka scans the crowd for Zuko from his vantage point on some souvenir cart. He finally spots him, being chased by one too many people for Sokka's comfort level. He twists the rope around his wrist once more before jumping off the cart. 

Zuko grunts as Sokka swings an arm around his waist and lifts him up off the ground. Sokka's plan goes right (for once), and the two of them land on the royal family's tent.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Zuko demands, gaining his balance.

Sokka sheathes his sword long enough for him to switch to his bow and shoot a few guards from up high, "You seemed a little overwhelmed, is all. Thought I might help out."

Zuko rolls his eyes. They're both sweaty and scuffed up, and suddenly Sokka is sixteen, committing armed robbery with some anonymous vigilante he's had a crush on for _weeks._ Two months later, he found out that the vigilante was the crown prince, and, well, Sokka'd be lying if he said he didn't think the prince had a nice face. It worked out well enough in the end.

Sokka slings the bow over his shoulder again and pulls his sword out. He gets a stupid idea. "Zuko, love, will you marry me?"

___

Zuko freezes, _"Tell_ me you aren't doing this now?" 

"Spur of the moment," Sokka says, and the tent rips underneath them. Sokka lands in the king's chair first, and Zuko falls soon after. 

Zuko's swords land in the chair next to them and Zuko scrambles over the armrests to grab them. Sokka kicks some guard away while attempting to right himself.

"You couldn't have picked a more romantic situation?" Zuko says as Sokka pushes the chair over onto someone.

Sokka shrugs, "I'll make it up to you. You can pick the honeymoon. Wherever you want to go."

Zuko pretends to think, "Have you ever been to Ember Island?"

"Never. Have you been to the South Pole?"

"A bit cold for me down there," Zuko nearly gives one of the guards a haircut with his sword, "But I'll just borrow your coat."

Sokka laughs, "Perfect! Two honeymoons and six kids!"

"Six? At least a dozen, are you serious?" 

Suki appears at Zuko's side, with an irritated expression, "Could you two stop flirting for _ten minutes?"_

___

"You know, you never did say yes," Sokka says, squeezing Zuko's hand. 

It's hours after the fight at the archery competition, and everyone fleed into the forest to let things cool down. The Firelord is furious, unsurprisingly, and Zuko is once again a wanted man. 

"Hmm?" Zuko looks at Sokka a little absently, "I could've sworn I did. You think I would've said no?" 

Sokka frowns, "Well, no, not really. It's just the principle of the thing at this point. Are you going to?" 

Zuko grabs both sides of Sokka's head and kisses him for the first time in _years._ It's _heaven._ "Yes. I'll marry you. But the three honeymoons still stand."

"Of course," Sokka nods enthusiastically, mostly just hoping Zuko will kiss him again. "Anything less would be cruel."

___

Zuko is sitting at the campfire with his best friend, his fiancé, his fiancé's best friend _and_ family when Azula arrives. Azula gives him one of her _'gotcha'_ grins, and all Zuko had the energy to do is sigh. Sokka's arm around Zuko's shoulders tightens.

"What do you want, Azula?" 

Azula's expression falters so minutely no one else would notice. "Father wants you home."

"No, he doesn't." Zuko stands up from his spot at the fire.

"No," Azula agrees, "he doesn't. But I've been instructed to burn down this forest if you don't come with me."

Zuko doesn't believe her until her eyes harden and her jaw sets. Azula raises an eyebrow and gestures out of the clearing. 

Sokka will come and get him later, anyway.

___

Sokka doesn't get very far in his plan to rescue Zuko before Firelord Ozai increases the taxes. _Again._

Aang rushes into camp two days after the tax increase, breathing heavily with a mostly-white face. "They got Katara." 

Zhao had come by that morning, demanding more money even though he'd taken everything they had the day before. Katara decided she was fed up and punched him. She'd been lead away in handcuffs.

"They took the kids too for good measure."

Suki stands up from her spot on a tree stump, "Even Tenzin?"

Aang can only nod before he starts crying. 

Sokka hugs his brother in law. "Suki, go find Toph. We're going to end this. For good."

___

That night, they split up. Aang, Yue, and Toph are in charge of the prison break, while Suki and Sokka are going to take the money back. All of it. And rescue Zuko.

"So what, you're just going to send it down?" Suki asks for what feels like the millionth time.

Sokka takes a deep breath, "The rope should hold if we send them down a few at a time. Ozai's getting paranoid, apparently he keeps the money in his room at all times."

Suki snorts. "Of course he does."

"I'll get in, send down the money, and then go find Zuko. If we're lucky, Ozai and Azula will sleep right through it."

Suki gives him a wry smile, "But we're never lucky." 

Ozai's room is mostly empty, Sokka notes as he climbs in through the window. The ridiculously large bed is against one wall, and on the other side of the room, the floor is covered in bags of money, as though he's some crazy cartoon villain. 

Sokka shrugs and ties up the rope the way they'd planned and gives it an experimental tug. He feels Suki's tug on the other end and gets to work. 

After ten minutes, there's nearly nothing left, and Sokka considers leaving what's left, just to make it easier. But then he thinks of his sister and his niece and nephews in _jail_ as though Tenzin isn't barely a year old, and he thinks of Aang, who only ever wanted to help people but is now forced to give any donations right back to the Firelord. He thinks of Zuko, who dared to speak up against his father and got a burn to show for it.

Nah. Sokka's not leaving the bastard _anything._

With the last bag on its way down to Suki, Sokka cracks Ozai's door open. He hasn't been in the castle in a long time, not since Zuko and him were teenagers, but he remembers where Zuko's room is. 

"I should've known you'd come back for him." Sokka turns around to see Azula, still in her nightclothes, standing at the end of the hallway. She may be in her pajamas, but she's armed. 

Of course, Azula would be smart enough to figure that Sokka would pick tonight for his heist. Of course. 

Azula yells for the guards and her father and anyone else in the castle, and Sokka groans. He was really hoping to avoid this. 

___

Zuko couldn't sleep. He'd heard from Azula that Katara had been brought in for 'tax evasion.' He hears a crash and the unmistakable sound of the guards running in the hallway when his door opens.

Sokka slams it shut behind him and leans on it for good measure. The footsteps fade off into the distance.

"You came back for me?" Zuko says and wishes he didn't sound so desperate. 

"Even I know I'd be a shitty fiancé if I didn't."

Zuko has to agree at that and accepts a quick kiss from Sokka before saying, "They kept my swords. I won't be much help."

Sokka grins and hands Zuko his dual dao, "That's why I stopped by the armory on my way here. Suki's got the money, and the others are breaking everyone out of jail."

"You see? This is why my uncle likes you," Zuko says, "Always planning ahead. And overthrowing shit governments."

The door is thrown open again, only this time Ozai is on the other side. The Firelord makes an almost yelling noise as he charges at the two of them.

Not happy about the engagement, then. 

Zuko sweeps his leg close to the floor and knocks his father to the ground. Sokka rips some ugly tapestry down from the wall and drops it on Ozai. One of the candles lining the walls topples to the floor in the process, catching the tapestry and the curtains in the hall.

"Did you just set the castle on fire?" Zuko asks, less upset about it than he maybe should be.

"Not on purpose. It's mostly stone anyway, right?"

"This is the top floor. The roof is wood." Zuko watches Sokka fully process the implications of his statement. 

"Ah," is his eloquent reply. 

The tapestry is still writhing on the floor, so Zuko, confident that his father will not burn to death (not that he'd particularly care if he did), grabs his fiancé's hand and drags him to the window. 

"We have to go out on the roof." The fire is taking up most of the room now, and going out to the hallway is a death wish. 

They're clinging to the side of the tower when Sokka says, "This kind of reminds me of when we were kids."

"How nice for you."

___

"That better not be my brother up there," Katara says, standing next to Suki. The other prisoners are following Aang and Yue out of the castle while Katara waits up for Sokka and Zuko with Suki.

"It definitely is."

Katara squints, "Is the castle on _fire?"_

Suki sighs worriedly, "It definitely is."

___

Sokka's pushed up against Zuko at the very highest point on the roof as the fire closes in around them. They're running out of options, and it's getting a little too hot for comfort. 

The lake is below them, Sokka realizes, close enough to jump from high enough up. "I have a bad idea," Sokka says.

Zuko turns to follow Sokka's gaze and his eyes go wide. "You're joking." 

"What other choice do we have?" 

He can see the blue and green specs down below that are Suki and Katara. The prisoners are gone, then, and the money must've been taken with them. 

Zuko narrows his eyes, "If you die, I'm going to bring you back and kill you myself."

"I thought you might say something like that," Sokka drops a kiss to the top of Zuko's head, "Are you ready, love?"

___

The first thing Zuko thinks when he hits the water is: _holy shit, it's cold,_ and the second thing he thinks is: _are those arrows?_

Sure enough, the archers who hadn't been able to see them up on the roof had started shooting as soon as they saw them diving for the water. The arrows slice through the water around him, and he realizes he needs to _swim._ There's a tiny bank where the sand is low enough for him to pull himself up on, and Katara and Suki are already there.

"Do you see him?" Zuko asks as he spits out water onto the dirt.

Suki sucks in air through her teeth, "Not yet. The archers are gone, though."

A few excruciating seconds go by before Sokka's head breaks through the water a few feet away. The three of them on shore scramble and pull him up to land.

"Am I dead?" Sokka asks between coughs.

"No, you ass. You just got shot." Suki props Sokka up and gives him a stern look.

"Which is damn well close enough," Zuko glares before kissing him, probably a little too hard considering Sokka's sister was right there, but if she has any complaints, she keeps them to herself

Sokka smiles up at him dumbly, "Good to see you too."

___

Sokka can't stop looking at Zuko as they make their way toward the carriage. The entire village came to see it, the outlaw marrying the prince, and the crowd is screaming and whistling as they walk by. Azula is even there, standing next to Firelord Iroh with her arms crossed and a grumpy expression on her face. 

"What?" Zuko asks when Sokka stares for a moment too long.

"Nothing. It's just that we're married now." Sokka kisses Zuko on his nose, and the prince scrunches his face up in surprise.

Zuko raises an eyebrow, "You asked me to. It's not like I would've said no."

Sokka smiles softly, "I love you, you know that, right?"

"Yeah," Zuko says, "I love you, too."

**Author's Note:**

> if they're out of character then so be it
> 
> tumblr: @theleftdualdaosword


End file.
